Shavua tov! Looking forward to Shabbat Ki Tavo

Shavua tov – a good new week to you!

This Week’s Offerings

This week our Zoom offerings include Rabbinic Drop-In Hour (1pm Mondays) and Reverse Omer Group with Jen Burt (5pm Tuesdays)m all in the CBI Zoom room with the usual password. Links and password will go out out in the CBI Announcements email (and are the same as previous weeks) but if you don’t have them, contact the office.

This Shabbat, September 5, we are holding a socially-distant, masked, no-singing service outside CBI at 9:30am. (If it rains, we’ll hold services over Zoom instead.) Please RSVP to the office by Wednesday so we know how many people to expect and therefore how many chairs to set up. Chairs will be set up at a distance from each other, and we’ll invite everyone to bring their own chair and prayerbook back inside after services so we’re not touching things that others have touched. Wearing a mask is required.

Meanwhile, on the Zoom front…

Help With Zoom: Do You Need It? Can You Offer It?

Need a hand? Are you unfamiliar with Zoom and uncertain how to join our online programs (Shabbat and festival services, book group meetings, and more)? Let the office know and we’ll match you with someone who can walk you through installing the software and learning how to use it. Lend  a hand! Are you familiar with Zoom and willing to teach someone else how to use it? Let the office know and we’ll match you with someone who wants to learn.

Seeking “Zoom Angels” For High Holidays:

Are you comfortable with Zoom (or are you willing to learn)? We’re looking for (at least) one person to be a “Zoom Angel” for each of our seven High Holiday services. (Erev Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah morning 1 and 2, Kol Nidre, Yom Kippur morning, Y”K afternoon, and Ne’ilah / Yom Kippur’s closing service.) Each Zoom Angel will be made “co-host” of the Zoom room for the service(s) when they sign up to help. They will manage the virtual door / waiting room (letting people in as they arrive) and will be asked to mute and unmute the room from time to time. Does this sound feasible to you, or would you be willing to learn some Zoom tips in order to lend a hand in this way? Please let Rabbi Rachel know!

We still need a few Zoom Angels for the Days of Awe, so if you are able to help out, please let us know.

Runway to the Days of Awe

We’re on the spiritual runway to Rosh Hashanah, and Rabbi Rachel is sending weekly emails to help us prepare for this unprecedented holiday season. Here they are so far:

Week One: Seven Weeks Until Rosh Hashanah
Week Two: Creating Sacred Space at Home
Week Three: Music
Week Four: Clothing
Week Five: What To Expect

Stay tuned for Wednesday’s update, which will be on Inner Work.

Torah and commentaries for this week

This week we’re  reading from parashat Ki Tavo in the book of Deuteronomy. If you’d like to read some commentaries on this week’s parsha, here are a few:

Here’s a VisualTorah commentary on Ki Tetzei by Steve Silbert of Bayit: Building Jewish, inspired by a d’var Torah from Rabbi Rachel:

And here’s commentary from the URJ:

Hope to see you soon at CBI.

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